New ‘pocket park’ coming to downtown Kitchener

The small space in between King and Charles Street downtown, along Gaukel Street has been closed to traffic for some time — and now, the city is turning it into the “Gaukel Pocket Park.”

It includes a very large structure created by Earthscape, called the Deconstructed Hearts. It’s an original design that will be one of a kind to Kitchener.

Once finished, it will include planters, benches and signage.

“It is petite, and it is a really interesting way for us to reimagine what a park space could look like in these denser urban areas,” Cara Lozano, the associate landscape architect for the City of Kitchener, said.

It is set to open in a month after some more details are finished.

“The Deconstructed Hearts is interesting, it is like one of a kind, it’s not up anywhere else, Kitchener is the only one to have it. It is a prototype for future designs that Earthscape is thinking about, so it was a really great opportunity to test it out,” Lozano said.

The reclaimed pedestrian space is intended to be a gathering space for all ages.

“Earthscape (…) wanted to introduce an interactive piece and something that people can play on that is not so exclusively just for young children. It’s for everyone, but that an older crowd would be comfortable engaging in and being apart of.”

Two years ago, the city did a pop-up park downtown that was very successful, which gave them the idea to expand the idea.

“We are so excited to get this up and open. It’s a great opportunity that we can do this here in Kitchener and were all really excited to see the way people use the space and how it brings people to businesses downtown and creates a bit of a destination.”

The Gaukel Pocket Park will be open year-round and is said to be largely weatherproof. Lozano added that if the city needs to, they can move the structure to another place.

After it opens, it will become a permanent structure in the city.